A Modern Mommy Lifestyle Blog

2 Ways to Handle Overly Chatty Students

October 5, 2017

Chatty students are very common amongst really young students. Honestly, this can get quite annoying. Not to mention, if this isn’t addressed properly, then they could continue such behavior in college. Imagine some of your students growing up and going to the best engineering university in the country, yet they are still really talkative. Either that or it will manifest into other annoying behavior. One of the first things that both their professors and fellow students will do is judge where they first studied. You don’t want you and your school to get a bad name. Also, you want to see your students bloom into undergraduates and professionals with good work ethic. So, here are a few tips for you to use to deal with chatty students in class:

The Secret Word Game

This will work for most of your classes. Implement a game where you set a secret word – such as “strawberry” or “puppies” – and the first student to raise his/her hand when he hears you say this word will get a prize from you. Make the prize something they would love, like a cool sticker or candy. This will keep them quiet and focused on what you have to say. They may even ignore those that try to talk to them.

You can say this any time; while you’re reading a story; teaching a lecture. But it’s best to say it before anything important so that minds will be reminded that they need to stay focused.

The Timer Game

This is another game that works wonders. It involves using a kitchen timer. Basically, you set a time on the timer and that’s the amount of time you have to talk to the students and give directions. If you get to finish before the timer goes off, then the students will have free time to talk to each other – also set by the timer. This will encourage them to keep quiet while you talk in exchange for their own freedom to talk. The catch is that you won’t tell them the amount you set on the timer. It could be 1 minute to 15 minutes. The point of this is that they have to be able to keep quiet so that you can finish what you have to say. If you go interrupted, then you will be able to finish for sure before the timer goes off. This is effective because no one wants to be the reason why the whole class doesn’t get their free time to talk.

Key Takeaway

Kids love games. Making silence a game they can play is a great way to keep them well-behaved. Not only will you be more comfortable in teaching, but you will also be able to educate them better when they have their focus on you and what you have to say. It’s a win-win situation for all. They won’t become the problematic student at the engineering university and you will get a reputation of being able to nurture good students.